


Four Shots of Espresso

by avengetheworld



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Romance, F/F, FLUFF!!!!!!, M/M, Obligatory coffeeshop au, Slow Burn, rika is in a mental institution to get the help she needs/deserves, seven and jaehee are bros, seven is a nervous wreck, seven lives in an apartment with saeran, this is my second work so im nervous posting this rip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9612617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengetheworld/pseuds/avengetheworld
Summary: Seven doesn't like coffee very much.He does like the new, cute barista at his local coffee shop, though.Yoosung really likes his new job.He also might like the attractive red-haired guy that keeps tipping him.





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven doesn’t like coffee very much.
> 
> To him, coffee is a means of getting caffeine. It’s best when drunk completely black, maybe some sugar if he’s feeling adventurous or has the time to add it. He doesn’t usually, considering he spends most of his life working for Jumin Han as a tech support man and/or hacker. Seven has a complicated relationship with Jumin. When he was younger, Jumin and his best friend V ended up helping Seven and his twin brother get out of their abusive household. Ever since then, Seven has felt a debt towards Jumin and somehow ended up working at his company after college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic is strongly inspired by this artwork by 120mlofglitter on tumblr: http://120mlofglitter.tumblr.com/post/150879752370/yooseven-in-obligatory-coffee-shop-au-click-for
> 
> I LOVE IT SO MUCH OKAY

Seven doesn’t like coffee very much.

To him, coffee is a means of getting caffeine. It’s best when drunk completely black, maybe some sugar if he’s feeling adventurous or has the time to add it. He doesn’t usually, considering he spends most of his life working for Jumin Han as a tech support man and/or hacker. Seven has a complicated relationship with Jumin. When he was younger, Jumin and his best friend V ended up helping Seven and his twin brother get out of their abusive household. Ever since then, Seven has felt a debt towards Jumin and somehow ended up working at his company after college.

Believe him, it wasn’t part of the plan.

Though Seven is forever grateful to Jumin, there are also times when he wants to strangle the dark haired man. Mostly when he’s standing over Seven’s desk with that infuriating smile, giving him more work while Seven is tangled in a bunch of wires that the interns didn’t know how to properly plug in. Right after Jumin gives him more things to do—which sometimes involves illegal means, but Jumin doesn’t shy away from that—Seven usually goes to get some coffee, just to annoy Jumin.

Right. Coffee. That’s how the story starts.

Or maybe it started with Jaehee. Jaehee and coffee. To Jaehee, coffee is something more than just a beverage—Seven can tell. Maybe it’s the way her eyes light up when she sees the fancy espresso machines or the pleased sigh at the first sip of her caramel macchiato. Either way, Jaehee seeks solace from her hectic job at the nearby coffee shop. It didn’t used to be this way. A few months earlier, Jaehee couldn’t even leave the office because she was so busy and stressed. But once Jumin started dating someone—it’s not confirmed, though they all suspect that’s the reason for his sudden good mood—he became much more lenient and forgot to pile more work on Jaehee.

In order to get away from Jumin and his annoying requests for a better firewall, Seven often goes with Jaehee to get coffee. Which he doesn’t even like very much. Which he’s said. Right. God, it’s hard to start at the beginning. And it’s much harder to get all his thoughts together. He’ll try one more time.

It started with Jaehee, coffee, and a very cute, very clumsy barista.  
“Wait up, Jaehee! I’ll go with you!” Seven finished wrapping his scarf around his neck, grinning widely at the scowl on the brunette woman’s face. He caught up to her at the elevator, Jumin’s annoyed face coming into view right as the elevator doors closed. His grin melted into a tiny, smug smirk at the fact that he successfully escaped the clutches of Jumin Han, at least for another twenty minutes.  
“Are you trying to avoid Mr. Han by going with me to get coffee?” Jaehee asked, looking very much like she was resisting the urge to either sigh or pinch the bridge of her nose. Maybe both, if Seven was being particularly frustrating that day.

“I plead the fifth,” Seven responded happily, adjusting the scarf he had put on haphazardly. Finally, Jaehee sighed, though her fingers stayed in her coat pockets.

“That’s an American thing. And you don’t even like coffee that much.” She tossed the last part over her shoulder as the elevator doors opened into the company’s main floor, shiny floors glistening. Part of Seven wanted to rip off his converse and slide across in his socks.

“Yes, I don’t like coffee, but I’m doing it for you. I can’t let my friend brave the Korean cold alone!” Seven said dramatically, pulling the glass door open for Jaehee. As he did, cold air rushed into the building, slamming into his body, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. Though some of their coworkers joked about Jaehee being a robot, she was very much human, and it showed in the way she shivered at the cold, attempting to burrow into her coat.

  
“Yes, I’m sure it’s not because you’re trying to escape Mr. Han,” she replied, though the corner of her mouth was curving up a bit. It was a lovely expression on her, considering she almost never smiled during work. Despite the freezing cold, it was nice to get out and for both of them to relax, even if it was just a brief respite during the day.  
“Can you blame me for wanting to? Wanting me to replace the hard drives in five computers, and update all the security systems in the sales department in one day? He’s a bit of a slave driver.”

  
Jaehee hummed, evidently deciding it was too cold to respond. The two walked along in companionable silence for a few minutes, enjoying the crisp, fresh air. There was undoubtedly going to be a mountain of work waiting for him back at the company, but for now, Seven was ignoring his responsibilities and focusing on the walk to the coffee shop.

  
The coffee shop was one that Jaehee and Seven had been going to for a couple of months now, once they discovered that Jumin’s good mood actually enabled them to leave the office. A female barista there always flirted with Jaehee, which Seven suspected was at least half the reason Jaehee kept going back. They hadn’t been there in a few weeks, though, considering how busy they had both been. Today had been the first day in a long time that they could spare time away. Well, Seven couldn’t _really_ spare the time away, but he was doing it anyways, consequences be damned.

  
It could be stifling working at Jumin’s company. The man could be overbearing and sometimes even unfeeling. Jaehee had been working there even longer than Seven had, but it seemed that she had become resigned to the back breaking pace long ago. Seven was used to working relentlessly—he double majored in college, after all—but Jumin Han brought a whole new meaning to the word ‘work’. To Jumin, it seemed that if you didn’t finish the Wall of China equivalent of work in one day, you were a disappointment. However, he had been getting better lately. Maybe Seven should hack his phone and see what was going on…

  
Seven was jerked out of his nefarious thoughts by the sight of the coffee shop. It would be warm inside there, and smell like freshly roasted coffee beans. At least coffee smelled good, or else it’s only redeeming quality would be the caffeine boost it offered. Which he could get just as easily from Dr. Pepper. Or an unhealthy energy drink.  
The two entered the shop, the bell above the door jingling cheerfully as it announced their arrival. Sure enough, a few moments later, the beaming face of the cute barista Jaehee always flirted with popped around the espresso machine she was maining.

  
“Oh, hello, you two! I’ll be done in just a moment!” she called out, going back to the drink she was making. Now that they were inside the shop, Seven’s shoulders slumped in a bit of stress relief. It seemed that he had forgotten just how soothing the shop was in the short time he had been away. The interior was darkly furnished, but not in a oppressive way. Tiny pods of brown cushy armchairs near the windows were laden with dark red pillows faded with use. Several tables were strewn around, a bit battered but still usable. Fairy lights lined the trim of the shop, lending a warm, comfortable feeling to the cozy space that was filled with soft, alternative music floating from speakers mounted on the wall. In between the two speakers was a giant corkboard filled with polaroids of workers, customers, and sometimes even both. There was one in the upper right of Jaehee and Seven on their third week visiting the shop, both smiling hesitantly as they cupped their coffee in their hands.

  
The counter which they were now standing in front of was the same color as the tables-- a rich, dark brown, though several flyers for local events were littering the top of it. A tip jar with a tiny sign that said ‘feed me!! :3’ was filled with some change. The letters were done in bright turquoise and Seven felt the urge to shove a dollar bill in just because of the neat handwriting and cute face on the note.

  
“Hello, Jaehee!” The worker appeared at the counter, two spots of red high on her cheeks from running around the shop. Although it also might have been at the sight of Jaehee, who was smiling softly at the woman in the brown apron.  
“Hello, MC,” replied Jaehee, who pretended to scan the menu even though she probably already knew what she wanted-- she was just buying time to talk to MC. The women continued to chat, flirting, and Seven thought about getting his phone out to look at, considering the two of them were being gross, but then the door to the back opened.

  
“Hey, MC, um, where do you want this box of flavor stuff? I got it down from the rack like you asked me to, but--”

  
BAM.

  
The person who had just entered from the back tripped over something, a startled yelp escaping from their mouth as they tumbled to the ground, box slipping from their grasp.

  
“Yoosung!” exclaimed MC, rushing over to the person. “Are you alright?”  
“I’m fine,” the person deemed Yoosung whined. “I think I just banged my knee.”

  
Then he looked up and, as cheesy as it sounded, Seven’s entire world seemed to slow to a crawl.  
A pale, round face, slightly red from the fall, framed by mussed blonde hair with dark roots, bobby pins askew. There were involuntary tears in his beautiful purple eyes, dark lashes fluttering as he rubbed his nose, pink lips pursed in a pout.

  
He was adorable as hell and Seven was going to die in this coffee shop.

  
“Sorry,” the adorable worker apologized to everyone in the front, his face flushing an even deeper red. “This is only my second week, and I guess I still haven’t gotten the hang of that uneven wood plank…”  
“It’s okay, Yoosung,” said MC, rubbing his shoulder with a comforting hand. “I tripped over it fifteen times on my first day.”

  
Thankfully, nobody had noticed that Seven had gone completely still, enraptured by the figure in front of him.  
Yoosung was wearing a green sweater with a purple button up underneath, collar peeking up from the putrid green material. The two colors didn’t go together at all, but somehow Yoosung made it work with how the button up matched his eyes and the green looked wonderful with his hair. It didn’t make sense, but Seven had a feeling Yoosung could put on one of those trash bags in the corner and be able to wear it down a runway. The sleeves of both shirts had been pushed up his forearms, revealing a few bracelets and pale, soft skin. Seven had the sudden urge to touch that skin and see if it was as smooth as it looked.

  
“Seven? What do you want?” Jaehee nudged him lightly in the side, snapping him out of his stupor. Dammit, he had gotten carried away.  
“Uh,” Seven started, his mind a complete blank except for pretty purple eyes.

  
“Oh, let me get this!” A cheerful voice called out and then a few seconds later, Yoosung was standing at the counter and beaming.  
“What can I get for you two?” he asked, one hand reaching for an aqua sharpie and the other for a coffee cup.  
“A large caramel macchiato, please,” Jaehee said, a small smile on her face. It seemed that the blonde man had charmed both members of their tiny group.

  
“And for you?” Seven made eye contact with Yoosung, who was still grinning, looking like it was his ultimate pleasure to take Seven’s coffee order that day. To his ultimate horror, Seven felt his face begin to heat up. No. He had gone years without feeling any romantic feelings towards people, and he wanted to keep it that way. Anyone who got close to him just got hurt.

  
“Four shots of espresso, please,” Seven said darkly, staring hard at the cash register instead of that lovely face.  
There was a long moment of silence as everyone digested what Seven had said, his voice devoid of any joy like he had been ordered to the guillotine. A very cute, very energetic guillotine whose hair was still rumpled.

  
“Just...four espresso shots?” Yoosung asked, his voice quavering with a note of hesitance. When Seven glanced at his face, he noted that Yoosung’s smile had slipped a bit, but it was still present.

  
“Yes,” Seven replied, a wave of dread crashing over his body as he realized that he was digging the grave even deeper. “Put them all in one cup together.”  
“Oh...um, okay. Name?” Yoosung’s hand hovered over the cup, and Seven caught sight of Jaehee’s cup, her name written in the same swirling script that was on the tip jar.  
“I’m going to fucking die,” Seven muttered.  
“I...um, excuse me?” Poor Yoosung was incredibly confused now, his dark eyebrows furrowing together.

  
“His name is Luciel,” Jaehee interjected.  
"No, it's Seven," he grumbled, still sweating profusely. Why would Jaehee choose now to use his Catholic name??  
With a tiny nod, Yoosung scribbled that down on the cup, passing Jaehee’s cup to MC, who quickly started on the caramel macchiato. Yoosung was working on Seven’s espresso shots with a perplexed look on his face. Each shot added into the cup made him wince and Seven felt a stab of guilt at being that weird customer on the man’s second week.  
“What was that all about?” Jaehee asked, raising an eyebrow as she gathered napkins and hot sleeves for their drinks.  
“Oh, uh, just remembered that Jumin asked me to do some more work. Looks like I’ll be at the office late tonight,” Seven smoothly lied, internally cursing. Jaehee would likely be there late too, so if he didn’t stay, she’d ask him why.  
Jaehee just nodded with a sympathetic wince. She knew all too well the laments of working late. Thankfully, a few minutes later, their drinks were done and Jaehee grabbed Seven’s for him, handing him the small cup full of strong espresso. The first sip crashed into Seven’s senses, almost making him shudder.

  
“Bye! See you later!” MC called out as they left. Jaehee returned the sentiment, raising a hand in farewell. From behind an espresso machine, Yoosung’s hand shot out to give a quick wave. Once they started walking back, Seven expected Jaehee to ask why he had been so weird inside, but she didn’t. Instead, she started talking about how some people in purchasing were trying to convince Jumin to have a company Christmas party. The rest of the walk back was spent brainstorming ideas to make the party a reality.

  
Once they were back to the office, Seven managed to make it to his computer without running into Jumin at all and he flopped heavily into his chair, frowning as he thought about what had just occurred at the coffee shop. Sure, Yoosung was cute, but why had Seven been so drawn to him the moment he saw him?  
“Whatever,” he mumbled. It was just one guy. How hard would it be to go there and see him? Lots of people were attractive.  
Then Seven picked up his cup again and noticed that there was something scrawled right under his name. Squinting, he saw that it was a note from Yoosung.

  
_‘Don’t overdose on caffeine!! :)_ ’

  
Seven immediately threw his head down on his desk, cradling it with his arms, groaning loudly.

  
Okay, it would be really hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also you can follow me on tumblr here: http://keithsmarmorasuit.tumblr.com/ !


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven realizes that he really likes blonde baristas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao Seven's got it BAD
> 
> Omg I'm so sorry for falling off the radar and forgetting to post more!! But it's summer now so I'll be posting new chapters of this fic either every week or every other week! Thank you so much for reading and I love you all <3
> 
> As usual, this fic is strongly inspired by art by 120mlofglitter on tumblr: http://120mlofglitter.tumblr.com/post/150879752370/yooseven-in-obligatory-coffee-shop-au-click-for

There was never a time that Seven hated himself more than the mornings.

                Usually, he stayed up until the ungodly hours of the morning, whether it was because he was working late or because he was watching a playlist of cat videos on YouTube. Sadly, more often than not, it was because he had been working. After everyone else had gone home, it was almost always Jaehee, Jumin, and Seven left in the office, all three doing their separate jobs. Last night, because he had neglected his work almost all day, Seven ended up having to stay super late, and when he got home, there were chores to be done and emails to answer, and he found himself collapsing into his bed around two. Then, of course, he had to get up at six for work.

There were times he considered quitting his job and becoming a hermit. But if he tried to leave the apartment, Saeran would kick his ass for not paying his part of the rent.

That morning was particularly hard—it took all of his willpower to drag himself out of bed. As it was, he accidentally ended up lying in bed staring at the ceiling sleepily for forty minutes. Combine exhaustion with depression and it was a killer duo that threatened to glue him to his bedsheets for hours. However, the wrath of Jaehee when she found out he left her alone to face Jumin was a convincing factor and he found himself standing in front of his closet, gazing blankly at the clothes he owned.

Why was everything he had black or yellow? Seven seriously needed to go shopping for some new clothes or something. With a soft sigh, he grabbed some dark jeans and a soft, black sweater, getting dressed. His shoes followed, though he spent an extra minute just sitting on the carpet yawning. Thankfully, Jumin didn’t reinforce a dress code for Seven (though he doubted he would follow it even if there was one.) The rest of his morning routine passed quickly and before he knew it, he had to leave or he would miss the train. Because of the extra forty minutes in bed, he had lost time to make breakfast, and with this fog of exhaustion dwelling over his head, he’d need a whole lot of coffee.

Somehow, he managed to get his stuff together and head to the train station. Outside, it was still vaguely quiet, the sun rising over the buildings like a shy child and the morning air was crisp and frigid, nipping at his nose and cheeks. By their apartment, there wasn’t very many people, but once he got onto the main road to head to the train station, the number multiplied. But that was good. That was honestly preferable. He followed the stream of people to the station, getting on his train, which was already filling up.

 One of the things Seven enjoyed about the city was that nobody gave a shit if you put on oversized headphones and completely ignored everyone around you. There were just so many different people that it would be exhausting to try and care about every single one and what they were doing. In a world like this, Seven could melt into the background, and it was actually…reassuring. Nobody knew his past or present and they couldn’t pass judgement on him—hell, they probably didn’t care. Moments like these made him safe; moments where Seven gripped a metal pole, standing among all the other exhausted commuters, posing as just another faceless person in the crowd. Not like someone could pick him out and immediately know who he was. It offered anonymity and there was nothing that he craved more. To keep him and his brother safe.

Rubbing his eyes, Seven scowled, skipping a song on his phone. He must be super tired this morning if he was dwelling on depressing shit like that. He glanced up at the scrolling bar above the door and realized his stop was only two away. Honestly, he needed to stop getting distracted like that. One of these days, he would miss his stop entirely.

The train came to a halt at his stop and he joined the crush of people exiting, hopping down onto the platform gently, and trying to avoid knocking over any children. At least it was nice outside. The sun was out fully now, offering a semblance of protection against the cold and the sidewalks were bustling, the business workforce of Korea all hurrying to their jobs. Just like Seven was doing. But first, he needed coffee. The exhaustion causing his eyes to burn screamed at him to provide caffeine, and who was he to refuse it?

Usually, Seven would get an energy drink or maybe a soda, but Jaehee and Jumin had given him enough lectures that he had broken the habit. Instead, he got some ridiculously sweet coffee beverage. As if that was any better—there was still loads of sugar. But at least it didn’t taste like coffee. Which did provide the energy boost he needed.

As Seven contemplated asking the coffee shop to just insert an IV of coffee into his veins, his phone pinged. Stifling a yawn, he checked the notification, noticing it was a message from Saeran.

November 15th, 7:15 am

 **The Edgy Twin:** On your way back from work can you pick up eggs, cabbage, and ice cream?

 **Me** : lolol ok r u sure u want the ice cream? This is like the 5th carton this week

 **The Edgy Twin** : You can’t see my face but rest assured it’s not amused.

 **Me** : fine fineeee i’ll get u ur precious fix

 **Me** : c u l8r

 **The Edgy Twin** : Don’t come back as late as you did last night.

Seven rolled his eyes, knowing that in Saeran speak, that meant ‘you work way too much and need to be home more often’. Or it could mean ‘I want my ice cream sooner than later, you fuck.’ With Saeran, the only way to know was through the inflection of his voice. Or his eyebrows.

His brother was stoic on his good days and irritable on his bad ones. It used to be worse when they were younger, though, but Saeran had gone to therapy and gotten medicine and was going to school now and working part-time at the school library, and Seven could not be more happy. There had been a time in their lives that Seven had thought they were both going to starve to death or die at the hands of their mother or something else morbid like that…

Seven shook his head again with a scowl, banishing the thoughts from his head. Seriously, he needed to get out of this funk before he went into work or all the interns not knowing how to use Excel were going to get on his nerves (more than usual).

As the familiar coffee shop came into sight, Seven typed a quick response to his brother, teasing Saeran about missing him while he was gone. While pushing the door open, Seven received a response in the form of a emoji rolling its eyes, and he grinned. Saeran rarely used emojis unless he was in a really good mood, and he was actually engaging in Seven’s banter. Something great must have happened and Seven was determined to find out. As he finished his message, he glanced up towards the counter, checking if there was a line.

Then his fingers froze.

There he was, in all his wonderful glory, watching Seven hesitantly. His slender fingers played with one of his bracelets, twirling around a purple bead, and he was nibbling on his bottom lip. As Seven stared, the beautiful man at the counter ceased his fidgeting and raised a hand, giving a small wave.

“Uh, good morning,” he said, lips curving into a tiny smile, almost causing Seven’s heart to literally jump out of his fucking throat. As it was, it began to pound erratically in his chest.

In the rush of the morning, Seven had totally forgotten about Yoosung, the barista who he had managed to completely embarrass himself in front of. In the morning sun, Yoosung was even more gorgeous, blonde locks shining and smile as bright as the sunrays painting the coffee shop in soft hues of yellow. Yoosung looked completely at home in the scene of the softly lit coffee shop. It honestly could have been a painting of some sort. Like a painting that Seven would literally pay 10,000 won for. Today’s outfit was a dark blue cardigan over a pale blue v-neck shirt, and Seven found himself fixated on Yoosung’s collarbones. Jesus, was this man created in a lab? That was the only explanation for how attractive he was.

“Uh, morning,” muttered Seven, shoving his phone in his pocket. He could feel his cheeks heating up, but he desperately hoped that it was hidden by the flush of the cold outside. There were no words to describe how ridiculous his bright red hair looked with a blush. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t even brushed it this morning and it was probably poofy and curly and he had major bags under his eyes. The only hope he had was that Yoosung would go blind and not be able to see his disheveled appearance.

There was almost nobody else in the café except for a young woman near the window typing furiously on a laptop, headphones firmly planted in her ears and a businessman stirring sugar into his to-go cup. It was very quiet, which was unusual, but Seven rarely came here in the mornings. He at least expected there to be more of a rush during the morning.

“There’s aboutttt… fifteen minutes until all the rabid business people come in craving their caffeine fixes,” Yoosung said. Seven blinked, surprised. Could Yoosung read minds? If he could, that meant… he had heard everything Seven had thought about him…

“Sorry! You were just…glancing around and stuff. It’s usually busier, but you’re here a little early, I think,” Yoosung continued, tripping over his words. When Seven looked at him, he saw that Yoosung was fidgeting with his bracelet again, cheeks flushed. The sight was endearing.

“Oh,” Seven replied, finally stepping up to the counter. Facing Yoosung without Jaehee around wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be, even if his heart was still pounding against his chest. Looking directly at Yoosung was sort of staring at the sun, though, so Seven cast his gaze up to the menu, trying to decide what concoction he should get today.

“Hold on a sec! I have to put on my apron, I totally forgot!” Yoosung’s voice startled Seven, but before he could even respond, Yoosung was sprinting into the back. There was a few moments of awkward silence where Seven stood at the counter, ignoring the menu. Then his phone pinged again and he took it out of his pocket, struggling for a few seconds, checking the message. It was from Jaehee.

November 15th, 7:30 am

 **Jaehee:** Since you’re not here yet, can I ask you a favor?

 **Me:** sure…for a price ;)))

 **Jaehee:** ….Are you propositioning me?

 **Me:** nah i was thinkin more like chips and dr pepper or something

 **Jaehee** : Thank God.

 **Me** : what do u mean by that :’(

 **Jaehee** : Nothing. Can you pick me up a caramel macchiato? There’s only so much cheap coffee with Splenda I can drink before I start going crazy.

 **Me:** sure thing

 **Jaehee:** Thank you so much. Now I don’t have to stare at this Styrofoam cup wondering if it’ll fill itself.

 **Me** : that’s what magic is for! Lol

“Okay, I’m back! Sorry, I always forget to wear this apron and it’s like, store policy or whatever.” Yoosung had emerged from the bag, indeed wearing a brown apron with the logo of the store on the front, embroidered in a lighter brown. It was exactly like the one that MC had, except Yoosung’s had buttons all over it.

There was a button with Link on it, another that said ‘LOLOL’, and some others, but Seven didn’t get to look at all of them, because Yoosung was now holding a sharpie and a cup expectantly.

“What can I get for you?” he asked brightly, giving Seven a wide smile that fried all his brain processes. This guy was seriously bad for his health.

“Uh, two drinks,” Seven managed to say, glancing up at the menu again. At least the menu didn’t have wide happy purple eyes. Were they sparkling? They were totally sparkling.

“The first one is a caramel macchiato, and for the second… A vanilla latte with an extra shot of vanilla.” There. That wasn’t too bad of a drink order, right? Maybe Yoosung would be impressed.

“So you don’t want four shots of espresso in your latte?” Yoosung asked, his smile turning slightly wicked as he scribbled on the cups and set them aside. It took Seven a few seconds to realize that Yoosung was referring to what had happened yesterday. Seven’s face burst into flames and he felt his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

“Listen, I was really tired and my brain was fired, okay?” He realized, with a jolt of horror, that his voice was _whiny._

To his amazement, though, all Yoosung did was laugh and type on the cash register, fingers slow in the fashion of a new worker learning all the buttons.

“I know, I’m sorry. I was just teasing you. Anyways, it’s really nice of you to get your girlfriend a coffee,” Yoosung said, looking up at Seven from underneath his eyelashes. There was some weird emotion there that Seven couldn’t identify, but Yoosung was now biting his lip and waiting for Seven’s response.

Wait. Girlfriend?

Yoosung thought Jaehee was his _girlfriend_?

With a snicker, Seven got his wallet out to pay, his grin widening at just the thought of Jaehee’s response to that assumption. As he handed Yoosung the money, he made eye contact and grinned.

“Jaehee isn’t my girlfriend. She would probably be horrified you thought that.” Seven continued to grin, raising an eyebrow at Yoosung’s flushed face as he quickly gave Seven his change back.

“Well, I just thought—y’know, you’re a good looking gu—good looking couple, so, y’know, okay, I’m going to go make these drinks now!” Yoosung blurted before turning to snatch both cups and flounce away. Confused but too tired to try and decipher Yoosung’s behavior, Seven turned away, going to the end of the counter to wait for his order. While he waited, he tapped away on his phone, checking his cats on Neko Atsume and tagging Jumin in a cat meme on Facebook. The sound of the espresso machine kicking on and milk being steamed soothed Seven and he went into a little bit of a sleepy trance. Before he knew it, Yoosung was standing at the end of the counter, putting hot sleeves on both drinks.

“Here you go!” he chirped, holding out the beverages. As Seven took them, careful not to touch their hands—he would literally actually die if that happened—he noticed Yoosung’s bracelet. It had purple and white beads that surrounded a word. Tilting his head, he realized the word was ‘faith’. Huh, Yoosung didn’t really strike him as the religious type…

“Are you religious?” he asked before he could stop himself. Wow, that was a bad habit he needed to break.

“What?” Yoosung seemed confused, but when Seven nodded towards his bracelet, his face cleared, a tiny smile coming onto it instead. He picked up a nearby rag and looked down at his wrist as he folded the cloth into a neat square.

“Oh, no. Not really. My cousin actually made this for me, but that’s the only reason I really wear it.”

“Oh, cool,” Seven said, feeling stupid even as he said it. “I’m sort of Catholic, but I haven’t been to church in years. That sort of thing.”

Yoosung just nodded and Seven took that as his cue to leave, spinning on his heel, almost dropping the drinks.

“Have a good day!” he said over his shoulder, catching sight of Yoosung wiping down the counter, but as Seven called out, he looked up, offering a wave.

“You too!”

As Seven left, pushing the door open with his back and enjoying the familiar jingle over his head, he noted how when Yoosung was talking about his cousin, he had almost looked sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on tumblr!: http://keithsmarmorasuit.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung goes to class and visits someone very close to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for being patient and for the lovely comments you're leaving!! I appreciate and love you all. <3  
> This chapter is in Yoosung's POV and the next one after it will be as well. I think I'm going to do a pattern of two chapters for each character's POV, but I'm not sure yet!  
> Also, there are a few original background characters. They're mostly based off my personal friends because that's who I am as a person.  
> I hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> This fic is inspired by 120mlofglitter's art on tumblr: http://120mlofglitter.tumblr.com/post/150879752370/yooseven-in-obligatory-coffee-shop-au-click-for

        “She”, Yoosung began triumphantly, “is not his girlfriend.” He had been making drinks for the last hour straight, and now that the morning rush was over, he was leaning against the counter, flexing his wrists. Both hurt, but the right one was particularly paining him. He didn’t know if it was from the hours of gaming he did last night or the amount of times he had twisted his wrist to add whipped cream to the top of drinks.

       “Well, duh,” MC replied as she poured espresso into milk. “I could have told you that.”  
Yoosung pouted, scrunching up his nose at the brunette.  
“But you didn’t! You let me suffer.”  
“It’s not my fault you were too blind to see me and Jaehee flirting.” With a smile, MC handed the man his latte and turned back to Yoosung, crossing her arms. When she did that, she looked just like his mom and it was honestly a little bit scary.

       “Which means you’re going to be too blind to see if that guy is flirting with you. What’s his name? Isn’t it something weird? Like a number?”

       “Yeah, it’s Seven,” Yoosung said, remembering scrawling the name on the cup. Then he remembered the little note he wrote Seven the first time he had come in. His cheeks burned, thinking about how Seven had probably read it and thought it was ridiculous. With a groan, he covered his face with both hands, feeling his despair grow when stickiness smeared on his cheek. It could have been caramel or whipped cream or anything else that they used at this dumb coffee shop for flavoring.

       “I can’t believe I wrote him a message on his cup. That’s like something that happens in fanfiction.” Yoosung gave another groan, dramatically throwing himself on the counter. MC began to wipe around him, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn glob of caramel.

        “Oh yeah, you’re right. Like, one character writes their phone number on the coffee cup with a winky face or something. Didn’t that happen in that one Madoka Magica fanfic you wrote?” Even though MC was bringing up his dark, embarrassing past, her face stayed serene and unworried. The caramel finally disappeared and she continued along towards the espresso machine.

         Yoosung’s face burned. “That was two years ago, MC. Ugh, I’m never drinking peach schnapps with you again,” he grumbled. Apparently, peach schnapps, some disgustingly ridiculous American drink, loosened his tongue enough that he talked about his dark internet past. His online moniker of LinkLuvr96 was something that needed to stay in the _past._

        “I can’t believe you started crying after one glass,” was all MC said back, but he thought he detected an impressed tone to her voice. Maybe it was something he could put on his resume, right under his job at Mystic Café: cries and reads old fanfiction out loud after one glass of peach schnapps.

        “I can’t believe you videotaped me instead of cutting me off.” His voice was whiny and he knew it. Sometimes grown men were allowed to pout. Especially if it involved old fanfiction and terrible best friends.

        There was a few moments of silence as both MC and Yoosung began to take stock of what needed to be replaced before the lunch rush hit. Another jug of vanilla flavoring, some more cold drink lids, and honey packets. Handing Yoosung the damp rag, MC disappeared into the back to grab said items. As he rinsed the rag out in the small bucket they had under the counter, Yoosung thought about Seven. Swiping the rag across espresso machines didn’t take much thought, so he had plenty of mental processes to think about the red-haired mystery that had been in the coffee shop twice. Like any other young person, he was hesitant to get too invested early on, but that was a problem of Yoosung’s—he usually fell hard and he usually fell fast. He always got way too committed way too early and ended up hurt. It happened way too often, and no matter how hard he tried not to, he couldn’t help it. With a small frown, he shook his head at himself. Seriously, he had seen the guy twice and the first time, he was barely sociable and mumbling about four shots of espresso. Why was Yoosung already planning their first date? With a sigh, he threw the rag onto the counter, turning away to stare out the window.

        “As if, Yoosung,” he muttered to himself. Seven seemed like a man who didn’t like Yoosung’s type. By Yoosung’s type, he meant stupid college kids who were way too addicted to gaming. Seriously, the guy worked at an office. There was no way he was interested in some twenty one year old. (Even if his birthday was in four months.) He had to be at least like, 25. Not that Yoosung found the age gap too daunting, but they were at different places in their lives. Yoosung could barely make food for himself and didn’t have a proper eating schedule. Not to mention he always cried at videos of puppies. He bet that Seven didn’t cry watching a video of a husky puppy trying to howl. The emotional maturity gap between them just had to be… yeah. Not to mention Yoosung didn’t even know if Seven was into men. What if Yoosung was just being annoying? What if Seven thought he was weird?

        Suddenly, the wet, cold rag was touching his neck, jerking him out of his thoughts. Yoosung made a noise that he would forever insist was not a yelp, but a very manly shout. His heart was pounding against his chest and breathing was a little bit too fast.

        “You are spending way too much time in your head again.” When Yoosung turned to give his attacker a Look, he found MC, raising an eyebrow at him. Her wry expression melted at the look on his face and she touched his arm. “You okay?”

         Using his breathing techniques from therapy, Yoosung managed to get his heartrate under control. Anxiety could be such a jerk sometimes.

         “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, trying to smile convincingly, but judging by her furrowed eyebrows, he wasn’t successful. Thankfully, the lunch rush started with a harried secretary asking apologetically for six lattes. Soon enough, the café was filled with university students, business people, and busy mothers grabbing a caffeine fix in the middle of their errands.

         Typically, Yoosung and MC could handle the influx of people by themselves. Their manager usually stayed in her office in the back, sealed away, but she could occasionally be bothered to come help. This was one of those times—it seemed like everyone was coming in at once, demanding several drinks in one order. They were being stretched thin, and judging by MC’s tight smile that showed way too much teeth, they had to go get their manager. Yoosung braced himself for the ten minute process, five for actually getting his manager to respond and another five for her to come to the front, when someone burst through the crowd to slip behind the counter.

        “Hi guys,” panted a tall girl with bushy blonde hair. It was one of their coworkers, Abby. Yoosung had totally forgotten she was scheduled to work today, but she literally looked like an angel in this busy time, freckles and all.

        “Hi,” Yoosung said as he almost forgot to add soy milk instead of regular to an iced coffee he was making. “I think MC needs help.”

        “On it,” she replied with a smile, hurrying towards the back to drop her things off. Less than a middle later, she was back in the work area, tying her apron behind her with efficient fingers. With a jerk of her hand, MC held out two cups towards Abby. She took them, read the order on the side of the cup, and began to get to work.

        “Hi, Abby, good to see you, sorry you got thrown into this,” MC said over her shoulder as she counted change.

        With a short laugh, Abby responded, “I thrive in fast paced environments.”

        Yoosung missed the rest of their conversation as he moved to the end of the counter, drink carrier filled with Harried Secretary’s order. With a quick nod and nervous smile, she took the carrier, lips moving at the Bluetooth speaker in her ear. There was a freckle next to her pretty hazel eyes.

        _‘Thank you,’_ she mouthed at Yoosung, and left.

        He allowed himself a soft sigh before he turned back to the warzone.

        The rush lasted around thirty minutes—after that, there was only a few stragglers and a small group of university girls who chatted about their skincare routines. Yoosung pretended he wasn’t listening. Tips were always nice as he suspected his cleanser wasn’t working as well as it used to. Finishing up the last girl’s chai tea, he handed the drink over, smiling back at the group’s loud, boisterous thanks. The bell over the door chimed as they left, now talking about music videos they liked.

        Now that the line was non-existent, all three workers let out relived sighs. MC stretched her back with a groan and a pop while Abby began to wander around, seeing what they needed to replace this time. The lunch time rush tended to deplete their stores more than the breakfast one.

        “I”, MC announced as Abby went to the back, “am going to quit this job and become a k-pop singer.” Yoosung snorted, grinning in the face of MC’s glower.

        “Follow your dreams. Be whatever you want to be,” he said to her, trying to quell the amused quiver of his mouth. She not so discreetly stepped on his foot as she passed by him.

        After the lunch rush, there weren’t very many people, but Yoosung was glad to get off work around 2:30. He had one class at three, then was planning on going to the hospital for a visit. This was usually his routine for Wednesdays—it was only Tuesday and Wednesday that he didn’t have obnoxiously early classes—and he was used to it by now. It wasn’t too bad. He always got home in time for a dinner that he usually heated up in the microwave. MC was there for another hour, and Abby was there until closing, around four. He went to the back to grab his stuff, hanging his apron up, taking the extra bobby pins holding his bangs back out and tucking them into his pocket, and slinging his bag across his chest. Yoosung was guilty of being a little bit obsessed with buttons and video games. Both his apron and bag were covered in stupid buttons he either got from online or cons. One of MC and Abby’s favorite things to do was count how many Link buttons he had until he usually either whined until they stopped or they got bored. There was a lot of them. Link was one of his favorite video game characters, okay? Breath of the Wild had just rekindled that love, too. Of course, LOLOL was still always number one in his heart. Tonight he should get in at least three hours of gaming. Then he should work on homework. Right, that seemed like a good compromise. He could even eat while he gamed, because he was a college student and they were amazing at multitasking.

       “Have fun in class!” MC sing-songed, blowing him a kiss as he left. He caught it, pressing it to his cheek with a grin. As MC pretended to clutch her heart and swoon, Abby handed him a drink.

       “Here, take it and run before the manager sees it,” she said with a cheeky smile, one eyebrow lifted. Touched, Yoosung thanked her and left, squinting in the bright sun of the afternoon. Although his heart sank at the thought of going to class, he still caught the bus (barely), which was practically right in front of the coffee shop. He chose a window seat, gazing out at the passerby, and noticed Jaehee approaching the door to the coffee shop. Eyes widening, he leaned forward, heart pounding. Was Seven with her? If he was, that would be his second time there today. Did he want to see Yoosung?

        After a few seconds of glancing around, he deducted with a twinge of disappointment that she was alone and Seven was nowhere to be found. Maybe he should have put his number on the coffee cup, he mused dejectedly as the bus pulled away from the stop. If it had worked for Madoka, it should work for him.

       A fifteen minute bus ride later, and Yoosung was walking to Biology, taking sips of the drink Abby had made for him. Although he hadn’t watched her make it, he was pretty sure it was something with caramel and white chocolate. Abby enjoyed making mystery drinks for him and having him guess what had gone in it; she said it helped ‘hone his skills as a barista’. He would have texted her and asked what it was, but he was getting into class and scurrying to his usual seat before anyone else could take it. Although college classes didn’t have “official seats”, everyone always sat in the exact same seat. To his left was the same girl that had been there all semester—dark brown hair, light brown eyes, red lips. Today she seemed to be asleep on top of her backpack, eyelashes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. Yoosung sipped at his caffeine.

      The professor came in and began class and Yoosung begrudgingly paid attention. He was pretty good at Biology and usually just read the textbook, so he didn’t find much of a reason to take notes, but he scribbled down some stuff anyways. Most of the time, though, he spaced out. Even though he itched to look at his phone, it was rude to the professor to do that. The girl next to him typed lazily on her laptop, taking a few moments to yawn. As the professor droned on, Yoosung flitted through several different topics in his head, finally landing on the topic he dreaded thinking about—Seven.

      It had been a long time since Yoosung had even really…thought of dating. Sure, he really wanted a boyfriend or girlfriend (he’d had his bi crisis quite a while ago) but he was just way too busy to even contemplate the idea. For some reason, though, he really wanted to ask Seven on a date. He’d probably die of embarrassment first but it was a nice thought. He wondered what Seven would wear on a date. That black sweater he was wearing today was really nice. It showed how broad his shoulders were. Leaning his chin on his hand, Yoosung sighed softly. That sweater looked soft, too. How would it feel under his hands?

      “Hey,” a voice next to him said. Blinking, Yoosung realized the class was over and that the girl next to him was giving him a perplexed smile. Heat suffused his cheeks as he realized he’d been fantasizing about Seven in class. He really needed to get over himself or throw himself into a trash can. Whichever came first.

      “Oh, uh, hi,” he said back. He put his notebook back in his bag, throwing his pencil in there as well. Then he stood up, starting to unravel his headphones.

      “Um, can I ask you something?” The girl was still there, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

      “Sure.” His headphones were really tangled. What had he done to them? All he did was throw them in his bag.

      “Okay, uh…do you want to go get a coffee or something?” Her voice lilted up at the end, and Yoosung glanced up to see her red lips stretched out in a smile. He did like making new friends, but he was busy today.

      “Sorry, I have to go visit my cousin,” he replied. “Maybe some other time.” Finally unraveling his headphones, he made a quiet noise of success and plugged them into his phone. “Bye!” he tossed out behind him as he made his way out of the classroom.

      The hospital wasn’t too long of a bus ride and for most of it Yoosung listened to music, smiling to himself. Before he got on the bus, he had picked up some candy. Those hospitals didn’t have any sweets and that was a travesty. Soon enough, he got to his stop and walked the rest of the way, adjusting his bag so it didn’t bounce against his hip so much. Every so often, one of the buttons would hit him directly on his hipbone and give him a tiny jolt of pain.

      The hospital came into view. It was a large building, mostly windows. It was likely designed to be welcoming, but the sun reflecting off the glass gave a slight sense of foreboding. Shaking off the feeling, Yoosung came inside the hospital, beaming at the receptionist. When Yoosung stopped in front of her desk, she got out the sign in sheet, handing it over to Yoosung.

     “Hi, Yee Suel. How are you today?”

      Yee Suel, an older woman with a warm smile, waved her hand at Yoosung. “I’m doing just fine. How are you?”

     Yoosung began to sign his name, glancing at his phone for the time.  He almost put a black star next to his name, like he used to when he was younger. “Good. I just got out of class.”

      She nodded, getting distracted by another woman coming up to the counter. “Head on back, they’ll be expecting you.”

      Before he could go into the actual hospital area, Yoosung had to be patted down to make sure he wasn’t carrying any weapons. His bag was searched and they made sure he didn’t have any shoelaces on. The first time he’d had to do this, it had shaken him and he’d almost ran back out. Now, it was normal for him and he went through the motions almost automatically.

       Once he was given the okay and got into the facility, Yoosung began to walk down the halls. The lights were almost too bright and the walls incredibly white. Sterile. It almost felt oppressive. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t help but feel a little depressed while being suffocated by the white walls. And he only came here once a week.

       The one place in the entire hospital that he felt comfortable was the garden. Even though it was an inside garden, it still gave the effect of the outside, except for the faint sterile scent and the stagnant air. It was still open and lovely, with a gravel path and flowers expertly planted alongside the stones. Marigolds, daisies, and more. A small pond with a fountain bubbled cheerfully, and on a bench across from it, he saw her. The long, curly blonde hair that sprouted from her head was a dead giveaway. Smiling softly, Yoosung made his way over to the bench, the gravel crunching under his feet. He took in a deep breath of the stale air and stopped in front of the bench, a grin overtaking his face.

      “Hi, Rika.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time on Yoosung's gay for Seven: karaoke bar ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ  
> Follow me on tumblr!: http://keithsmarmorasuit.tumblr.com/


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung visits with Rika and gets an invitation from a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHAT EVERYONE I'M TRASH AND COULDN'T GET THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER OOPS
> 
> I hope this makes up for it!! Both boys are so smitten it's kind of embarrassing actually
> 
> (Also I just finished the V route and want to punch Rika but am still a firm believer that she deserves help so nothing about her situation is changing in my fic. That being said, I am no expert on mental health besides my own experiences and minor in Psych so if I write something awfully ableist let me know please!!)
> 
> As usual, this fic is inspired by artwork by 120mlofglitter on tumblr: http://120mlofglitter.tumblr.com/post/150879752370/yooseven-in-obligatory-coffee-shop-au-click-for
> 
> Plz enjoy I love you all so much thank you for being so patient with me!!!!

His cousin turned her face at his words, her big green eyes blinking for a few moments before her lips curved, soft and subtle.

“Hello, Yoosung,” she said, and patted the bench next to her with a slim, pale hand. Without hesitating, he sat next to her, trying not to flinch at the cold bench. Since the garden was inside, the temperature was kept at a carefully controlled level, ensuring that the plants would stay alive year round. Whenever Rika had free time, she was there, sitting on the bench, just watching. Sometimes she’d read or make bracelets, like the one currently on his wrist.

“How was class today?” Rika’s voice was calm and her eyes were clear. Today was a good day, then.

“It was fine. I think we talked about amino acids or something.”  At his nonchalant words, Rika tutted gently, waving her pointer finger in the air.

“You should really pay more attention during class. Your teachers know what they’re talking about.” Rika stopped, staring off past Yoosung’s shoulder, face becoming blank for a few seconds. Then she blinked and put her hand in her lap.

“I’m sorry, I forgot what we were talking about,” she said, fidgeting with her fingers. This would happen sometimes. Although Yoosung had asked the doctors why she would forget things or space out in the middle of her sentences, they had blamed her medication. The nurses had been more helpful, explaining that her anti-psychotics were so strong that she occasionally had forgetful moments. They also suggested that her mind was disassociating from her body, to protect her from harmful thoughts or something else.

It was also the symptoms of her mental illness—Rika suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. It wasn’t common for people with it to become violent, but that was what had happened to her. A few years ago, she had been placed in the facility and they had all seen huge bounds in her recovery. Whether or not she would ever be able to be released was unknown. As the doctors said, they had to make sure she wasn’t a harm to herself or anyone else. There were good days and there were bad days, as every single person with a mental illness had. Although she scared him on the bad days, he wasn’t going to abandon her. Besides, her medication was helping so much that even bad days weren’t how they used to be.

“That’s okay, it was just about how boring class is,” he said, putting his bag on his lap. “I snuck you in some snacks. Your favorites.” With that, he flung open his bag with a dramatic flourish just to see Rika’s indulgent smile. Out of it he pulled some milk caramel candies, some chocolate, and of course, their favorite, strawberry milk candies. The sparkle that appeared in Rika’s eyes at the sight of the candy lifted Yoosung’s heart. Seeing her happy was so rare that he couldn’t help the huge grin that came over his face. It almost hurt his cheeks.

The two shared the candy, sitting side by side. Yoosung could almost pretend they were young again, sitting at a park after volunteering somewhere and stuffing their faces. Part of him yearned for those days again, but he knew that it was better for Rika to get the help she needed. Even then, she had been having symptoms of her mental illness, but nobody knew what it was. She lashed out at family and friends, afraid they were plotting against her, or in severe cases, trying to kill her.

After a few minutes of candy eating, Rika turned to Yoosung, gathering all her wrappers up. He offered the empty bag of strawberry milk candies for the trash, and as soon as she dumped them all away, she fixed him with an intense stare.

“Are you still volunteering? Going to church?”

Yoosung had still not had the “guess what I’m an atheist” talk with Rika yet. It was something he didn’t even want to tell his parents, especially his mom. But Rika? Faith was incredibly important to her—he had seen her reading the Bible more than once out here as well. Sometimes she read it out loud to him, and he had pretended to enjoy it.

“Whenever I have time. I’m super busy with this new job and school and everything…”

Although Rika tutted and scolded him for not making time for what she deemed important things, she quickly abandoned the topic to engage him in conversation about his life, asking questions about school and work until he felt he had exhausted every single detail of his past week. She always did this, offering suggestions to problems he had and chiding him for spending so much time playing video games. He suspected she felt guilty about not being able to be in his life more regularly, but Yoosung would never blame her for it; when she’d been admitted a few years ago, he’d been upset. Now, though, he was just glad that Rika was recovering, even if it was a slow process.

After he had talked for a solid twenty minutes, he managed to get Rika to talk about what she had been doing in the facility since last Wednesday. Although she was always hesitant at first, she opened up quickly, mentioning some stories about other patients acting out and what scheduled activities they had done.

“We were doing a craft day on Monday, and I was looking through a nature magazine for some clippings. I got distracted by all the pictures of the wilderness, though. It was so gorgeous! I think it was…Alaska? Somewhere in America.” Rika gave a wistful sigh, her eyes faraway as she remembered the magazine she had been looking through. The look made Yoosung’s heart pang a bit.

He had no idea what it would feel like to be in this place. To feel trapped, like you could never leave, all because your brain wasn’t producing the right chemicals. Although having anxiety sucked, Yoosung couldn’t even imagine what it was like to have a more severe mental illness. Anyone who struggled with it had his respect.

Clearing his throat, Yoosung gave Rika a bright smile.

“Then we’ll go one day! We’ll go to Alaska together.”

Although Yoosung had no idea if they would actually ever go to Alaska—he had a feeling they wouldn’t, but he wanted to stay positive—the look Rika gave him in response was worth it.

After a few more minutes of idle chatter, one of the nurses appeared, impeccable and meticulous.

“Rika, it’s almost time for your group therapy session.”

With a slight nod, Rika stood, giving a small sigh as she smoothed out her dress. Yoosung followed, realizing that he was taller than Rika. Was that a new development, or had he just never noticed before? His chest panged at the thought that he didn’t see her enough to know.

“Goodbye, Yoosung,” Rika said, squeezing his arm. With a wave and smile to both Rika and the nurse, Yoosung left the garden, making his way out of the hospital. He still remembered the day that Rika had been taken to the hospital. It had been…awful, for lack of a better term. The memory still sent chills down his spine, when he allowed himself to think about it. There had been a lot of screaming, he remembered, and V had been devastated.

V…

As Yoosung walked along the sidewalk towards the bus stop, earphones firmly in his ears, he wondered, not for the first time, how V was. V had been in a relationship with Rika when she had begun to show symptoms of her mental illness. Ever since everything had happened with Rika years ago, Yoosung had never really talked with him… In fact, for the first few years afterwards, Yoosung had blamed V for what happened to Rika and thought she had been admitted against her will. His mind had supplied fantasies of Rika being strapped down, forced to take drugs, and other dramatic, movie-type scenarios…

Now he was old enough to realize that it hadn’t been V’s fault. But there were so many things about the situation that Yoosung didn’t know, simply because he had been too young to be in the loop. All he knew was that Rika was “a danger to everyone’s safety”, and that was what his mom had told him. At this point, Yoosung had no idea what had really happened. Part of him didn’t want to know.

All he did know was that had been one of the worst times in his life. For a long time, he had relied on Rika for so much of his validation and when she had gone away…well…  
He had learned how to rely on his internal strength. Which was good. But he just wished it hadn’t happened like that.

The sound of the bus pulling up startled him into reality and he took a deep breath, hopping on. Around him, other commuters were staring out the windows or tapping on their phones, and for a moment, Yoosung felt lonely. The anonymity of the city could be…dreary, sometimes. There was nothing more Yoosung wanted than to be able to sit down next to someone he recognized and give them a warm smile. Maybe go to a café or something while it snowed… Or a movie! That would be fun.

Then again, he thought with a soft sigh, if he did know someone like that, he’d probably have to tell them about Rika. And he wasn’t sure that was a conversation he really wanted to have, especially when his own feelings on the matter were so complex.

 

 

Once Yoosung got home, he started up his computer, ignoring his homework in favor of some games. What? He was an adult. If he wanted to play games for a few hours, then he could. Even if it meant having to do all of his homework at 3 am. A tiny frown curved his lips as he thought more about the consequences that would come if he neglected his responsibilities.

…Whatever. Responsibilities were overrated anyways.

Yoosung played games for a few hours, losing track of time. Though his stomach growled, it was ignored in favor of another raid. This one he got a ton of loot in, so he of course had to sort through it and see what he wanted to keep and what he wanted to sell. By the time that he was interrupted by his ring tone, the sky was dark and his feet were cold.

He blinked several times in a row before realizing that his phone was right by his hand; he squinted at the caller ID to see that it was MC, and he picked up, standing. All his muscles twinged after hours of no use as he stretched them out.

“Hello?” A yawn slipped into his words and he rubbed an eye, grimacing when he realized just how tired he was.

“Okay I need to ask you a huge favor and before you say no I want to remind you of the time with the latte and my skirt.”

At least MC wasn’t wasting any time getting to the point.

“Well, that happened like, a year ago, and you said it wasn’t a big deal, so you can’t use that against me,” he retorted, a tiny pout creasing his features. The fact that he had spilled his latte on MC’s new velvet skirt was something that plagued his thoughts occasionally—that was what anxiety did to you.

“Then should I remind you about the koi and how you--”

“No! That was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done, I don’t want to think about it.”

There was a moment of silence where they both definitely thought about it, Yoosung’s face heating up at just the memory. He’d ended up throwing the jacket he’d been wearing that day away, convinced it still smelled of fish and pond water.

“Whatever! Forget the koi. I…might have a date with Jaehee?”

Although it was phrased like a question, there was no doubting the happiness in her voice. Although Yoosung hadn’t been working at the coffee shop long, he’d been friends with MC for years, and she’d had a crush on Jaehee for _months,_ and they’d been dancing around each other ever since he’d become MC’s coworker.

“Oh my god, MC, that’s amazing! What are you going to wear? That black turtleneck dress would look really good, especially with your ankle boots!”

“Yeah, you’re totally my best friend, that is exactly the outfit I had picked out, but, uh… I haven’t gotten to the favor part yet.”

Oh, right. She’d needed a favor. He couldn’t think of anything she would need from him, especially in reference to the date; maybe she wanted him to take one of her shifts?

“It’s a karaoke bar date and I’m so nervous to go alone. Will you please please go with me?”

It took Yoosung a few seconds to process what MC said, especially since it had all come out in a rush. Obviously she was sort of freaking out and desperate, and he really couldn’t say no to her… Besides, he really did like karaoke bars…

“Yeah, sure! When is it?” Agreeing was easy enough; the hard part was what came after the phone call.

“Oh, thank you sooo much! It’s tomorrow night at 8. I’ll come over before it and we can get ready together, if that works for you!”

They chatted for a few more minutes, finalizing plans and teasing each other. Once they hung up, Yoosung tossed his phone onto his bed and turned to stare morosely at his closet. Now came the hard part…

Finding something to wear.

 

The next morning, he had class super early, which sucked since he had stayed up late doing homework, but thankfully, it was his only class of the day. Afterwards, he had a short shift at the coffee shop with MC, then a few hours until the group date thing that they were going on. MC was inviting some girls from her classes, but they would probably keep to themselves, she said.

His day passed pretty fast, and before he knew it, he was at the coffee shop, back to making caramel macchiatos and lattes for harassed businesspeople. Nearby, MC was taking orders, handing back change with a vengeance.

Close to the end of their shift, Yoosung was leaning on the counter and talking to MC, trying not to spoil the latest season of Daredevil when the bell above the door jingled softly. When Yoosung glanced up, a smile still resting on his face, he saw bright red hair and a sheepish grin.

His stomach jumped, a blush instantly rising to his cheeks, but he managed to greet Seven, even if there was now a nervous lump in his throat. Today, Seven was wearing large navy sweater that looked incredibly cozy and soft to the touch.

“Uh, hey,” Seven said, fingers fidgeting with his phone. Yoosung beamed back, brushing some of his hair behind his ear. Even his bright purple bobby pins couldn’t keep all of it back.

“Hi! How are you?” At Yoosung’s cheerful words, Seven’s shoulders relaxed a bit and he stepped closer to the counter, a  smile tugging at his lips. There was nothing Yoosung wanted more than to reach out and run a hand through Seven’s unruly red curls, especially when the sun hit them. They burned like a fiery halo, an inferno of beauty…

Yoosung cleared his throat, cheeks hot. He really needed to quit it or he might accidentally say something like that out loud and then have to leave the country forever.

“I’m okay, I just wanted to get out of the office for a bit. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m pretty okay. Just working.”

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, Yoosung taking in the faint freckles across Seven’s face, his golden eyes, the way his nose was slightly red from the cold outside… He really was handsome, wasn’t he…?

A throat clearing nearby startled Yoosung and he tore his eyes from Seven’s face, attempting to not knock everything on the counter over in his haste to grab a cup.

“What can I get for you today? Coffee? Iced coffee? A latte? Mocha?” he rambled, avoiding Seven’s eyes. From behind him, he could hear MC snicker and he attempted to kick her discreetly, but he missed.

“Oh, uh yeah, ummm… a mocha for me and a caramel macchiato for Jaehee.”

Yoosung jotted Seven’s order down, but before he could grab Jaehee’s cup, MC snatched it like a gremlin, picked up her own marker, and began scribbling all over the cup.

“Uh, I guess she’s got that order… Your total is $7.07,” Yoosung said, glancing over at where MC had finished up her drawing and began making the drink.

For some reason, Seven chuckled at the order total, but he handed over a $10. As he did so, their hands brushed, Seven’s fingers frigid from outside and callused. Though Yoosung jumped a bit, he didn’t mind the touch. It actually left his hand tingling a bit.

(Could someone just beat the hopeless romantic out of him?)

“She seems excited about something,” Seven said, motioning towards where MC was dancing around while making Jaehee’s drink, a giant grin on her face. All day, she had been radiating happiness—Yoosung couldn’t ask for it any other way. His best friend deserved this.

“Yeah! She has a date with Jaehee tonight,” Yoosung told him, enjoying the way Seven’s pretty eyes widened at that tidbit of information.

“She does? And Jaehee never _told me_??” Seven seemed genuinely insulted, and the offense on his face made Yoosung cover his mouth with one hand, trying not to giggle. When Seven’s nose scrunched up like that, Yoosung wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss it.

“Here you go! While you two were flirting, I finished both drinks,” MC said, coming up on Yoosung’s left side, smirking and holding out two cups. Instantly, both Seven and Yoosung went bright red, stammering and denying that they were flirting while MC just cackled.

Taking the drinks, Seven made his escape, clutching both drinks in his hands.

When Seven’s face was red and matched his hair, it was super cute, thought Yoosung. A small sigh escaped his lips.

“My god, you’re worse than me with Jaehee,” muttered MC, tapping away on her phone.

“What?” Yoosung asked, swiveling his head towards her.

“Nothing,” she sang-song, and although Yoosung didn’t believe her, he dropped it.

An hour and a half later, they were at Yoosung’s place, getting ready for the date that night. Well, it was more of a group outing, but for Jaehee and MC, it was a date. Although MC hadn’t asked him to, Yoosung would make sure that nobody would bother Jaehee and MC during the night. He was good at being a wingman and he was perfectly fine with being delegated. Although part of him wished that Seven was going to be there…

MC had reassured him that there was also places to dance, so it was a combination of a karaoke bar and a club. And so, finally, Yoosung was able to find an outfit to wear to the karaoke bar.

He had gone with a sleeveless crop top black turtleneck, some high-waisted jeans with tears in them, and simple black shoes. It wasn’t something he would be very confident in wearing often, but MC had begged him to, citing that time he had worn a crop top and gotten hit on three times in one night. So he agreed, though he was incredibly nervous about it and kept staring in the mirror. It didn’t look terrible, but… he was just worried someone would judge him for it. Although Yoosung didn’t adhere to gender roles, he always had the fear that someone in public would try to “correct” him.

But he took a deep breath, had faith in himself and MC, and persevered.

“Take your bobby pins out! Your hair looks cute mussed up,” said MC, who had decided to forgo the turtleneck dress in lieu of something more comfortable. Instead, she was also wearing a crop top, although her jeans were so high-waisted they barely showed any of her stomach. She had a flannel on as well, though Yoosung suspected she would shuck it off at the bar and tie it around her waist. The combination of crop top, high-waisted jeans, flannel and white tennis shoes made her a LGBTQ icon as well as an aesthetic goddess.

Finally, it was time to go to the club. They hopped on the train, saving their money for the Uber at the end of the night when they were probably going to be tipsy. Even though it wasn’t his date, Yoosung felt anxious; what if MC’s friends tried to talk to him? He wasn’t very good with new people, though he pretended to be. If he had a drink or two in him, though, that would up his social skills greatly. That would probably be what he ended up doing.

They got to the karaoke bar and headed towards the area where they were meeting Jaehee and MC’s friends. Passing through the club area was a trip; Yoosung hadn’t been to a club in a long time, and he forgot just how hot it could get in there. The music was pulsating, vibrating underneath his feet, and colored lights illuminated writhing bodies on the dancefloor, some intertwined. He immediately looked away, cheeks flushing.

There was a small group, no more than five people, waiting for them, and as the lights flashed, Yoosung caught a glimpse of bright red hair.

No way. Was it…?

“Hey, we’re here!” MC called out cheerfully, and as the group turned towards them, Yoosung met eyes with Seven.

Yoosung was in a club, wearing a crop top and sweating nervously, and the cute guy who frequented the coffee shop he worked at was there too.

The night opened up with so many more possibilities, but for the most part, he was just screaming in panic internally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you don't like Yoosung in crop tops you can fight me  
> Follow me on tumblr!: http://keithsmarmorasuit.tumblr.com/


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